"a valentine"
by edgar allan poe

1. for her this rhyme is penned whose luminous eyes,
2. brightly expressive as the twins of leda,
3. shall find her own sweet name, that nestling lies
4. upon the page, enwrapped from every reader.
5. search narrowly the lines! -they hold a treasure
6. divine-a talisman-an amulet
7. that must be worn at heart. search well the measure-
8. the words-the syllables! do not forget
9. the trivialest point, or you may lose your labor
10. and yet there is in this no gordian knot
11. which one might not undo without a sabre,
12. if one could merely comprehend the plot.
13. enwritten upon the leaf where now are peering
14. eyes scintillating soul, there lie perdus
15. three eloquent words oft uttered in the hearing
16. of poets, by poets-as the name is a poet's, too,
17. its letters, although naturally lying
18. like the knight pinto-mendez ferdinando-
19. still form a synonym for truth-cease trying!
20. you will not read the riddle, though you do the best you can do.
what is the best description of a gordian knot in lines 10 and 11?